Women’s hockey splits weekend slate including conference win against Penn

Princeton field hockey (4–2 overall, 1–0 Ivy League) went one for two again in its third week of play, winning 1–0 against the University of Pennsylvania (1–4, 0–1) on Friday and losing in a shootout to the No. 10 University of Connecticut Huskies (6–1, 1–0 Big East Conference) on Sunday.

Tigers down Quakers in slim 1–0 victory

In both games, it took the Tigers a while to get on the board, with their single goal against the Quakers coming in the fourth quarter from sophomore midfielder Tabby Vaughan. Although Princeton has been struggling with its attack penalty corners this season, Vaughan coordinated her team’s set play perfectly to strike the back of the cage with just 10:05 left in the game.

“We finally executed it very well,” Vaughan told The Daily Princetonian. “I was lucky enough to be the one who put it in the net.” 

The assists went to sophomore midfielder Saylor Milone and junior defender Izzy Morgan. The moment was especially big for Milone, as she had missed the first four games of the season due to injury.

Junior forward Pru Lindsey, who earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors last week, had an opportunity to score on a penalty stroke as well, but was unable to capitalize. Princeton was consistently on the front foot, often threatening the Quakers in their own circle. Once Vaughan found the back of the net, Penn failed to generate any real opportunities and was unable to produce a real comeback effort. Princeton recorded 24 shots to Penn’s four. The Tigers also earned eight penalty corners compared to Penn’s four. It was clear that for the Tigers, one goal would do it.

Princeton falls in shootout at UConn

On the road, Princeton then went to Storrs for Sunday’s top ten matchup, where they lost to UConn. 

“I think we were inconsistent this weekend,” head coach Carla Tagliente said. “We found moments of connection but struggled to put the ball in the goal against Penn. UConn was a higher level game. We moved the ball well and defended well. I do think we are getting better.”

The matchup was back and forth in rainy conditions. Both sides had opportunities to score, and although Princeton once again outshot its opponent, this time 12–6, neither squad capitalized until the second half of play.

UConn struck first in the early minutes of the third quarter, forcing Princeton to trail for the first time this season. About 10 minutes later, Milone scored her first career goal with a putback from off a corner to tie it up at 1–1.

“It’s been a long time coming so I was super excited about it,” Milone told the ‘Prince.’ “I’ve been getting a lot of reps inserting in preseason and I have a lot of trust with the people at the top of the circle to get a good shot off and I was just in the right place.”

“She’s very helpful,” Tagliente said of Milone’s production since being back on the pitch. “I think she had a great weekend. On both sides of the ball she was really sound and provided a much needed boost in the midfield.”

Neither team found the back of the cage in the fourth, sending the matchup to overtime. When both teams failed to score in the overtime period, the teams competed in a shootout. UConn swept the shootout by scoring on three of its first four attempts, while the Tigers did not convert on any of their attempts. 

“There are some intricacies that go into it,” Tagliente said about the shootout. “We need to prepare more than what we have done. The confidence is low and the execution is low.”

The Tigers will travel to Cambridge to challenge fellow Ivy League foe No. 7 Harvard (5–1, 1–0) on Saturday at 12 p.m. The last time these two teams met was the 2025 NCAA Semifinal, when the Orange and Black claimed victory. This weekend, Princeton will look to down the Crimson yet again as Ivy League play continues.

Emilia Reay is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’

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